Leviticus

Death of Nadab and Abihu

Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire in it, added incense to the fire, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, fire that He had not commanded them to present.

Then a flame leaped out from the Lord’s presence and consumed them in front of the Lord.

And Moses said to Aaron:

“That is what the Lord meant when he said:

‘I will show my holiness through those who approach me, and before all the people, I will show my glory.’”

And Aaron had to remain silent.

Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said, “Come and take the corpses of your brothers far away from the Sanctuary, out of the camp.”

They came and carried them away, still in their shirts, out of the camp as Moses had commanded.

Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar:

“Do not leave your hair uncombed nor tear your clothes to show that you are mourning; lest you die and the punishment extends to the whole community. All the people of Israel shall mourn the death of your brothers, who died because of the Lord’s fire.

But you shall not leave the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is on you.”

And they obeyed Moses.

Notices to Priests

The Lord spoke to Aaron, saying:

“Before coming to the Tent of Meeting, you and your sons must not drink wine or strong drink; otherwise, you will die. This is a law for all your descendants for all time to come.

So that you may recognize the difference between what belongs to God and what is for general use, between what is clean and what is unclean.

For you must teach the people of Israel all the laws that the Lord has given to them through Moses.”

Moses said to Aaron and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar:

“Take the grain offering that is left over from the Lord’s burnt offering, and eat it without leaven beside the altar because it is a most holy thing.

Eat it in a sacred place for it is the share of the Lord’s burnt offering, which belongs to you and your sons. This is what the Lord commanded me.

The breast that was offered up and the hind leg that was set aside are to be eaten in a clean place by you, your sons, and your daughters; this is the share of the peace offerings of the people of Israel that belongs to you and your sons.

The hind leg that was set aside and the breast that was offered up, after the fat has been burned, belong to you and your sons, after being presented before the Lord through the gesture of offering, as the Lord has commanded this forever.

Case of Conscience

Then Moses inquired about the goat offered as a sin offering and discovered that they had burned it. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s two remaining sons.

“Why,” he asked, “did you not eat this goat in the holy place? For it is a most holy thing given to you to bear and take away the community’s fault.

Since its blood was not taken inside the Sanctuary, you should have eaten its flesh there, as I commanded you.”

Aaron said to Moses:

“They have offered their sacrifice for sin and their burnt offering before the Lord on this day of mourning. If I had eaten the goat offered in sacrifice for sin today, would that have seemed good to the Lord?”

And when Moses heard this, he was satisfied.